Archived News:

Friday, Jan 18, 2013

The SimCity Website is accepting registrations to test the upcoming reboot of the urban planning series. Here's word on the beta, which will run from January 25-28:

The day that Mayors have been clamoring for is almost here - Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) today announced that the SimCity™ beta will run from January 25 – January 28. Those who previously signed up are already in consideration for access to the beta, limited slots are still available for late applicants. Eager fans who want to get an advance look at SimCity have a limited time to sign up at www.simcity.com/beta before the application process ends at 2am, GMT on January 21. Developed by Maxis, SimCity will be available March 8 and is available for pre-order right now.

“It is always an exciting moment to share a game that is still in development with its biggest fans prior to launch,” said Lucy Bradshaw, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EA’s Maxis Label. “This beta will help the team improve the live service aspects of SimCity to ensure a smooth and user-friendly experience at launch. I want to thank everyone for signing up - we are excited to share one of our most beloved franchises with our fans.”

Running from 5pm GMT on January 25 until 8am GMT on January 28, the SimCity beta offers fans the chance to play a one hour slice of the game** and to deliver feedback that will help shape the final product. As a live service, SimCity will continue to provide updates that evolve the experience, delivering a dynamic platform that grows and expands over time.

The Bethesda Blog has word that the Windows and PlayStation 3 editions of the Dragonborn DLC for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be released next month. The PC edition is expected on February 5th and the PS3 edition does not have an exact date, but they say all three DLC packs should be out for Sony's system by the end of February.

Paradox Announces a one week setback to Dungeonland, saying the game will get some last-minute polish before it is released on January 29th:

Today we're announcing that upcoming hack ‘n’ slash title, Dungeonland, will have its launch postponed by one week. Originally slated for release on January 22, the irreverent co-op game will be available on leading distribution channels come January 29.

As we continue our quest to ensure game experiences on day one are as pleasant as possible, we're making a few last minute updates before releasing the game to the masses. We work around the clock for our devoted community, and we appreciate everyone’s patience here as we get things finalized.

Gas Powered Games has laid of some staff shortly after the launch of their Wildman Kickstarter seeking $1.1 million for a new action/RPG. This is reported by Kotaku, who confirmed that the company has cut some staff with honcho Chris Taylor after getting wind of them through the grapevine. Taylor did not confirm the extent of the layoffs, however, so there are dramatic elements to the Kotaku report which remain speculative, as one source told them these were due to the Kickstarter underperforming, while other sources have told them that almost everyone who worked for the company was let go. There's a follow up to this on Gamasutra. "The studio is still operating, but we had to slim WAY down to conserve cash reserves," Chris Taylor confirmed for them, confirming some earlier comments that they are all in on Wildman: "We spent all the last dough that we've had, and the last several months working on it. So we're betting the company on it."

Ubisoft reveals the bonuses for those who preorder Might & Magic Heroes VI Shades of Darkness, the upcoming standalone expansion for Might & Magic Heroes VI, their strategy sequel. Those who preorder via the Uplay shop will receive a Master of all Darkness pack containing:

Blizzard announces changes to the upcoming version 5.2 patch for World of Warcraft on the Public Test Realm for the MMORPG. The notes now include additions and deletions dated yesterday reflecting the most current state of the update. The lastest update about this patch suggests it's still weeks from going live.

The Infinite Space Website has a new patch to update Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space to version 1.30. Here's word on what this changes in Digital Eel's spacey sequel: "The update swaps Eelmix for OpenAL, fixes a potential crash bug involving alien fleets without homeworlds (Tchorak, Ravian) and tweaks/brightens up the ship graphics a little to make them more visible."

The Kickstarter page for Wildman offers a second update about Gas Powered Games' proposed evolutionary action/RPG. They respond to requests to see the game in action with Video Update #1 showing prototype gameplay and featuring Chris Taylor overcoming his camera shyness to answer further inquiries about their plans. Oddly the in-game footage is shot second-hand off a monitor, allowing us to pretend this is leaked shakycam footage of an E3 presentation or something illicit like that. Continue here to read the full story.

This Kickstarter seeks funding for an iPad edition of Vendetta Online, Guild Software's multiplatform space combat MMORPG. In addition to this new tablet version, they outline other goals that will impact the game in its entirety: "All players and platforms share the same universe within Vendetta Online, so iOS users will rub elbows with those on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and WinRT. Beyond iPad support, the Kickstarter could also help fund the next major expansion of the title's gameplay, including enhanced player-owned capital ships and territorial conquest, and is scheduled for completion near the end of 2013."

The AMD Support Hub now offers new version 13.1 WHQL-certified reference drivers for AMD/ATI graphics cards. These offer new a 3D settings and profile management user interface, all the performance improvements and bug fixes introduced in the Catalyst 12.11 beta 11 along with Ubuntu 12.10 production support. They also offer a new standalone un-installation utility that will remove all traces of an existing Catalyst installation, since graphics card drivers can be difficult about things like that. All the downloads are neatly grouped on this page.

Codemasters is undergoing a consultancy that could result in layoffs, reports GamesIndustry International, saying that cuts would center on the company's digital and publishing efforts. They say a "strong source" tells them about 80 out of 500 positions may be cut, mostly from Codemasters' Southam studio responsible for racing games. They also have an official comment: "As the Company realigns its operations to focus on areas of increased strategic importance and decrease resources in areas that are not delivering value for the business, the Company has proposed the restructure of certain aspects within its digital development and publishing units in line with future product strategy," reads the official statement. "As a result of the proposed restructure, the Company has therefore entered into a period of collective consultation with the affected employees. The restructure is not company-wide and is not anticipated to impact the development of its core console and PC titles such as GRID 2 or its annual FORMULA ONE title."

Blizzard unveils new details on changes coming "in the relatively near future" to PvP gear in World of Warcraft, their MMORPG. They outline the reasoning for changing how gear is handled for PvP beginning with the upcoming version 5.2 patch and give an idea of the changes this will involve. All this is explained by the general goals of "making PvP more accessible and less punishing, gearing more consistent and flexible, and flattening the power curve out over the course of a season."

Open beta testing of Akaneiro: Demon Hunters will be extended through January 22nd, reports VG247, so there is more time to act for those interested in this upcoming/RPG from American McGee's Spicy Horse Studios. To sign up for the beta, head over to this page.

This downloads page now offers an updated version 2.288 of Evochron Mercenary, the space combat and exploration game from indie developer StarWraith 3D games. Here are the changes in the new version, which is also available as a trial version: Continue here to read the full story.

Huffington Post - Video Games Hold No Answers.If there was any truly meaningful link between homicide and media exposure from any source, then by now one would have seen a whole body of supportive forensic research being used in our courts. If any of this research being trotted out now held even a glimmer of hope for a person accused of murder, attorneys all over the country would be mounting vigorous defenses based upon this connection -- but we haven't. And the reason we haven't is that the connection between the psychological and behavioral dynamics of youth homicide and violent video games and violent movies is simply not there.

Well, with three more games left in the NFL season I have no chance of getting even in the playoffs. A perfect run from here on out would just even me up for a 1-3 week last week, but what can you do? Yes, pick better, I know. Speaking of picking better, almost everyone else faired better than I. Here are last week's results: Verno, Topevoli, sauron, and Creston 3-1; dj LiTh, Jivaro, Cutter, and Batman 2-2; and mag was also 1-3.